FHCN building Strathmore clinic

strathmore – Every successful community is built on three pillars – public safety, education and health. In the last five years, the unincorporated community of Strathmore has made huge strides in education with the opening of Harmony Magnet Academy, which boasts two of the best academic pathway programs in the nation, and public safety, as children can now attend the Boys & Girls Club after school and over the summer. Access to health care seemed to be the only thing lacking, but that will soon change thanks to a local leader in rural health care.

Family HealthCare Network (FHCN) has purchased property to open a clinic in Strathmore, possibly by the end of this year. President and CEO Kerry Hydash said FHCN purchased the property at 22817 Avenue 196 in Strathmore a year ago and is expected to complete construction in mid November.

“We are extremely excited to be opening a location here,” Hydash said.

Formerly the office of the Stark Packing Corporation, Hydash said the 5,600-square foot building will be remodeled to include six exam rooms and administrative offices. She said the clinic will offer primarily family medicine services but also lab services, community health workshops and health education. Hours of operation have yet to be determined at the future site in Strathmore.

Hydash said FHCN is already serving about half of the low-income population of Strathmore and about a third of its total population at its Porterville campus. But that doesn’t help alleviate transportation obstacles for many low-income residents. In order to combat that, Hydash said FHCN now has 14 shuttles that provide doorstep-to-doorstep, dial-a-ride like service for patients who do not have their own transportation to the nearest clinic.

“We would love to hear from the community about the services they would like to see here,” Hydash said.

Eight of FHCN’s 19 medical clinics are located in unincorporated areas, including Cutler-Orosi, Ivanhoe, Goshen, Pixley, Springville, Terra Bella, Three Rivers and Traver. For more information on clinics near you, call 877-960-3426 (FHCN) or visit www.fhcn.org.